One of 300 stores closed nationwide, the local Blockbuster will shut its doors permanently on April 7. Dish Network, which bought the bankrupt movie rental chain in 2011, cut the stores and their estimated 3,000 employees following a liquidation of 500 American locations in 2012. The 10 Kinston workers will be among them.

According to an interview company spokesman John Hall gave to the Denver Post last month, the intention is to eliminate underperforming stores and those whose leases are up. Hall said employees were notified on Jan. 18. Dish is also moving Blockbuster’s corporate offices from Texas to Dish’s site in Douglas County, Colo.

But before the doors shut, everything’s for sale at the store on 1201 W. Vernon Ave. Through Sunday, used DVDs and Blu-ray discs can be purchased for less than $10, and a number are for sale for less than $2. New DVDs and used games are selling at 10 percent off and 20 percent off, respectively.

And if you see something else and want to buy it, it’s fair game. The shelves, gumball machine, TVs and everything else is available for the right price.

“(Monday) was the first day with the sales, and we sold a lot of stuff,” said James Lattea, a Blockbuster customer service representative, on Tuesday. “It was booming — really busy. Today, it’s kind of been on and off, but it’s still been pretty busy, so we’re selling pretty good.”

Kinston resident Angela Hill came to the store regularly, but went Tuesday to pick up some deals in the tubs of used movies. She said she’s, “A little bummed out. Everybody’s got the Redbox now.”

Adrian King, director of Pride of Kinston, said he’s sorry to see the store go.

“I was a devoted fan,” King said. “In fact, I bought one of those $16-a-month deals, which meant you could go, get all the movies you wanted and keep them as long as you wanted. So, I was a great fan of Blockbuster. I’ve been a customer of Blockbuster for a long time.

“I think it’s got two things about it — one is an indication, systemwide, of the great influence of the Internet. I’m also a Netflix guy, and I can stream my movies right off the Internet without having to go to the store or even to the mailbox.”

Down the road, another store might be leaving. The Vernon Park Mall Hallmark store was one of the earliest tenants of the shopping center, but its future is in doubt. Manager Carolyn Harrell said the employees were told in December that something could happen, but they haven’t heard any news one way or the other.

Page 2 of 2 - “We wish we did. Honestly, we don’t know anything,” Harrell said. “We really don’t know anything. It’s really bad on us, because we’re in limbo here. One day you come in and you’re happy, and the next day you come in and you’re down in the dumps because you don’t know what the outcome is. Hadn’t had any freight in, basically — we had a little bit of Valentine’s stuff come in, but they just haven’t made up their minds yet what they’re going to do.”

Mall property manager Mike Ingalls said there are talks in progress to keep the store in Kinston.

“We’re doing everything in our power to keep the Hallmark store here,” Ingalls said. “We’re in negotiations right now with them.”

There’s the possibility of a new anchor store and two other stores going into the mall, but Ingalls wouldn’t elaborate as there are no agreements yet and discussions are ongoing.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.

Breakout Box

Everything at the West Vernon Avenue Blockbuster store is for sale until Sunday

Used movies: DVDand Blu-ray, $9.99 or less

New retail DVDs: 10 percent off

Used games: 20 percent off

Candy: 20 percent off

Also on sale: Shelving, storage racks, cabinets, a safe, a gumball machine, TVs, merchandise cages, counter tops and counters, and smaller items including trash cans, storage bins, cleaning supplies. Also available are 6- and 8-foot tables and table cloths